Academic Service Learning

What is Service Learning?

Service learning at MSU provides an important link between the campus and the local,
state, regional, national and international communities. Through service learning,
students and faculty members engage in service to the community that addresses community
identified needs directly related to the subject matter being taught in the classroom.
Students apply information from a class in an authentic community setting and their
learning experience is then measured and graded through prearranged reflection activities.
The MSU Office of Activities and Engagement (OAE) is a consistent source of institutional
support for service learning. Please refer to the diagram below to better understand
what we do to support service learning.

Integrating Service Learning into Curriculum and Courses

With support from the Office of Activities and Engagement, the Integrating Service Learning into Curriculum and Courses (click on link to view video) panel discussion took place on March 31th, 2011 as
part of the Teaching & Learning Center Faculty Workshop series, . Professors and students
shared their experiences initiating and participating in service learning through
their courses. This panel provides faculty members with a framework to begin the integration
of service learning as a component of their courses and provides a deeper understanding
of the benefits of service learning to students.

Moderated by Kaylee Ranck, Admissions Coordinator, The Graduate School

Congratulations MSU! For making The President's Honor Roll for Higher Education Community
Service

[Bozeman, MT]–Montana State University, Bozeman has been named to the 2009 President's
Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college
or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and
civic engagement. The Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers
the annual Honor Roll award, recognized more than 700 colleges and universities for
their impact on issues from poverty and homelessness to environmental justice. On
campuses across the country, thousands of students joined their faculty to develop
innovative programs and projects to meet local needs using the skills gained in their
classrooms. Business students served as consultants to budget-strapped nonprofits
and businesses, law students volunteered at legal clinics, and dozens of others organized
anti-hunger campaigns.

"Congratulations to MSU and its students for their dedication to service and commitment
to improving their local communities," said Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation
for National and Community Service. "Our nation's students are a critical part of
the equation and vital to our efforts to tackle the most persistent challenges we
face. They have achieved impactful results and demonstrated the value of putting knowledge
into practice to help renew America through service."

The Honor Roll includes six colleges and universities that are recognized as Presidential
Awardees, with an additional 115 named to the Distinction List and 621 schools named
as Honor Roll members. Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors
including the scope and innovation of service projects, percentage of student participation
in service activities, incentives for service, and the extent to which the school
offers academic service learning courses. Click here for a full list of Honor Roll
recipients.